Quick lowering mechanism for fourdrinier drainage foil

ABSTRACT

A PORTION OF A PAPER MAKING MACHINE IS DISCLOSED WHERE PAPER STOCK DISCHARGED FROM A HEADBOX IS DEPOSITED UPON A FOURDRINIER TYPE WEB FORMING WIRE PROVIDED WITH DRAINAGE FOILS BENEATH THE WIRE (SUBSTITUTED FOR TABLE ROLLS), AND A FOIL IS SUPPORTED BENEATH THE WIRE BY A SUPPORT MECHANISM INCLUDING A WEDGE TYPE CAM WHICH WHEN WITHDRAWN FROM A SUPPORT ENGAGING POSITION QUICKLY LOWERS THE FOIL TO AN INOPERATIVE POSITION AND WHEN   REINSERTED IN A SUPPORT ENGAGING POSITION QUICKLY RAISES THE FOIL TO AN OPERATIVE POSITION, WITHOUT UPSETTING THE ANGULAR AND SPACING ADJUSTMENT OF THE FOIL RELATIVE TO THE WIRE WHEN THE FOIL IS IN ITS OPERATING POSITION.

April '27, 1971 F. J. GEDEMER ET L 3,575,715

QUICK LOWERING MECHANISM FOR FOURDRINIER DRAINAGE FOIL Filed 001;. 2, 1967 l/m L m- 91 2 m WAR/4,41

Patented Apr. 27, 1971 3,576,715 QUICK LOWERING MECHANISM FOR FOURDRINIER DRAINAGE FOIL Fred J. Gedemer and Lee R. Loughran, Appleton, Wis.,

assignors to Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis.

Filed Oct. 2, 1967, Ser. No. 672,116

Int. Cl. D21g 9/00 US. Cl. 162352 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portion of a paper making machine is disclosed where paper stock discharged from a headox is deposited upon a Fourdrinier type web forming wire provided with drainage foils beneath the Wire (substituted for table rolls), and a foil is supported beneath the wire by a support mechanism including a wedge type cam which when withdrawn from a support engaging position quickly lowers the foil to an inoperative position and when reinserted in a support engaging position quickly raises the foil to an operative position, without upsetting the angular and spacing adjustment of the foil relative to the wire when the foil is in its operating position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to paper making machines having drainage foils beneath a Fourdrinier type web forming wire and in particular to a foil support mechanism for quickly raising and lowering a foil to and from an operative position beneath the Fourdrinier wire.

Description of the prior art A concept involved in this invention is that of providing blades, now commonly called drainage foils, beneath a Fourdrinier wire in the position formerly occupied by table rolls, to achieve superior drainage of water through the bottom of the wire. The evolution of this concept to present day forms is illustrated by the following patents: British Pat. 399,739 in 1933; British Pat. 717,798 in 1954; US. Pat. 2,744,454 in 1956; US. Pats. 3,017,930 and 3,027,941 in 1962; U.S. Pat. 3,140,225 in 1964; and US. Pats. 3,165,440 and 3,201,308 in 1965. In all of these prior art arrangements some provision is made for adjusting the angular and spaced position of a foil beneath the bottom surface of a Fourdrinier wire that operates with varying degrees of speed, convenience, observability and certainty.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved arrangement for adjustably controlling the rate of water removal through the bottom of a Fourdrinier web forming wire while the machine is in operation and the wire is moving.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement for quickly lowering a drainage foil to an inoperative position, in order to control water removal through the wire or replace a worn foil element and quickly raising the foil to an operative position, relative to the bottom surface of a Fourdrinier wire while the machine continues to be in operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement for quickly lowering a drainage foil to an inoperative position and quickly raising the foil to an operative position, relative to the bottom surface of a Fourdrinier wire, and to do so without upsetting the angular and spacing adjustment of the foil relative to the wire when the foil is in its operating position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement for raising a drainage foil from an inoperative to an operative position, relative to the bottom surface of a Fourdrinier wire, and to latch the foil in the operative position.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved arrangement for accomplishing the aforesaid objects rapidly with certainty and conveniently with a mechanism having settings that can easily be observed by operating personnel.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an end of a drainage foil may be supported by a mechanism mounted on a rail alongside of and beneath the web forming strand of a Fourdrinier wire. The mechanism may include a lower support member mounted in a fixed position on the side rail and an upper support member carried by spacer posts which are in turn mounted on the lower support. The end of the drainage foil is connected to the upper support and the spacer posts therefor carry both the upper support and the attached foil. The spacer posts carry the upper support at a first preselected level over the lower suport to define a space therebetween and carry the foil at a level below the bottom surface of the Fourdrinier wire that is inoperative to promote drainage of water through the wire. A portion of the spacer posts project upwardly through the upper support and the upper support is movable up the posts from the first preselected level. A cam is pivotally connected to one of the spacer posts and is movable to drive a wedge-shaped portion thereof into the space between the posts and between the lower and upper support members. The wedge-shaped portion is oriented to present an upper inclined surface that engages a mating surface on the bottom of the upper support to lift the upper support as it is driven into the space. When the cam has driven the wedge portion in the space, the wedge portion lifts and carries the upper support and attached foil at a second preselected level. This second preselected level is selected to be the level at which the foil is operative to promote drainage water through Fourdrinier wire.

Other features and objects of the invention that have been attained will appear from the more detailed description of an embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of a portion of a paper making machine showing a portion of a headbox, a breast roll, Fourdrinier wire and drainage foil assemblies according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the drainage foil assemblies of FIG. 1 and showing the assembly in greater detail;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view partly in section taken along line III-III in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view taken along line IVIV in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing and FIG. 1 in particular, a

portion of a paper making machine is shown wherein a headbox 1 discharges pulp through a slice opening 2 to deposit the pulp on a Fourdrinier wire 3 as it leaves a breast roll 4 that is turning in the direction indicated by the arrow. A plurality of drainage foil assemblies 5 are shown arranged beneath the wire 3 and mounted on side rails 6.

Referring to FIG. 2, the foil assembly is shown as having a lower support member mounted in a fixed position on rail 6. As shown in FIG. 3, this lower support 10 may be in the form of a clamp made of two parts 11 and 12 which are secured together by bolts 13, to clamp onto a tongue portion 14 projecting upwardly from rail 6. Referring again to FIG. 2, a pair of spacer posts 17, 18 are shown mounted on support 10 and project vertically upward therefrom. Each post comprises a shaft 19 threaded on both ends, and a sleeve 20 of larger diameter fitted about the shaft 19 to rest upon the top surface of support 10 and provide a shoulder 22 at a selected level above support 10.

An upper support member 25 is arranged in vertically spaced relation over lower support 10 with the shafts 19 of the spacer posts 17, 18 projecting upwardly through support 25. Upper support 25 is carried in such a relative position by means that will be described later. The upper support 25 however carries a foil 26 which is constructed and supported in a manner that will now be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the foil 26 includes a body portion 27 that holds a wear strip 28 in close proximity to the bottom surface of a Fourdrinier wire. The body portion 27 is provided with a flat and generally horizontally disposed arm 29. As shown in FIG. 2, the arm 29 of foil 26 is attached to the upper support 25 by a pair of bolts 30, 31 that pass through arm 29 and are threaded into upper support 25. A pair of nuts 32, 33 on bolts 30, 34, 35 and on bolt 31, with one of each pair below arm 29 and the other above arm 29, provide for adjustment of foil 26 to raise or lower arm 29 from upper support 25 or adjust the tilt of foil 26 relative to upper support 25 such as by turning the paired nuts in opposite directions.

A cam '40 is pivotally connected to the spacer post 17 and movable relative thereto between the horizontal planes defined by upper and lower supports 25, 10. The cam 40 is provided with a wedge-shaped portion 41 so located on cam 40 to be driven between the upper and lower supports 25, 10 and between posts 17, 18 when the cam is turned as indicated in FIG. 4, from the position shown in broken lines to the position shown in solid lines. The wedge-shaped portion 41 has an upper surface 42 that is both inclined and arcuate of a radius emanating from the central axis of the post 17. The surface 42 engages a mating inclined and arcuate surface 43 on the bottom of the upper support 25. The incline of the surfaces 42, 43 is best illustrated in FIG. 3 and the arcuate configuration is best illustrated by the showing of surface 42 in FIG. 4.

In order to prevent the cam 40 being unintentionally pivoted too far in the direction from the position shown in FIG. 4 by broken lines to the position shown in solid lines, the cam 40 is provided with a depending portion 44 through which a cap screw 45 passes to provide an adjustable stop for such movement. Additionally, a latch may be provided between cam 40 and upper support 25 comprising a groove 46 adjacent the top edge of the inclined surface 41 on wedge portion 41 and a detent mechanism 47 in the upper support 25. The detent 47 comprises a surface follower 48 projecting downwardly through upper support 25 and surface 43. The follower 48 is backed by a spring 49 which urges the follower 48 downwardly to ride on surface 42 and project into groove 46 when cam 40 is in the position shown in FIG. 3.

The assembly according to the present invention is shown in the drawings and has been described with reference to but one arm 29 end of foil 26. Both ends of the foil 26 must, of course, be similarly supported.

In the operation of the described assembly, the nuts 32, 33 on bolt and nuts 34, on bolt 31 are adjusted so that arm 29 is carried thereby relative to upper support 25 in a position that when cam is pivoted to the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and in solid lines in FIG. 4, that the foil 26 will be elevated from a first preselected position established by the shoulders 22 on sleeves 20 of posts 17, 18, to a second preselected level as shown, to carry foil 26 in a vertical position and with an angle relative to the Fourdrinier wire 3 (as shown in FIG. 1) to promote water drainage downwardly through the wire 3. Cap screw is adjusted to insure that cam 40 will not be pivoted too far and the foil 26 will not be raised above the second preselected level. When it is desired to lower one or more of the foils to a position inoperative to promote water drainage downwardly through wire 3, the cap screw 45 is first detached from lower support 10. At such time the detent 47 will prevent the cam 40 immediately pivoting toward the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 4. When cap screw 45 has been detached and the machine operator is ready to lower the foil 26, cam 40 is grasped by hand and turned toward the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 4. This action causes the surface follower 48 to ride up the edge of groove 46, compress spring 49 and ride up and onto surface 42. As the cam 40 continues to move from the solid line position to the broken line position in FIG. 4, wedge-shaped portion 41 and surface 42 will be withdrawn from the space between the upper and lower-supports 25, 10 and the upper support 25 will be lowered back down shafts 19 until support 25 comes to rest on shoulders 22 on top of the sleeves 20 of the spacer posts 17, 18. At this position the spacer posts 17, 18 again carry the upper support 25 and attached foil 26 at the first preselected level beneath wire 3, at which time the foil 26 is again at a position selected to be inoperative to promote water drainage downwardly through wire 3.

From the foregoing detailed description of the present invention it has been shown how the objects of the invention have been attained in a preferred manner. However, modifications and equivalents of the disclosed concepts such as readily occur to those skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. Thus, the scope of this invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the claims such as are or may hereafter be appended hereto.

We claim:

1. A Fourdrinier wire drainage foil assembly compris ing: a lower support member in a fixed position; an upper support member arranged over said lower support member; a drainage foil attached to said upper support; spacer means mounted on said lower support and engaging said upper support to carry said upper support and attached drainage foil at a preselected and drainage promoting inoperative position in vertically spaced relation over said lower support; and a cam having a wedge-shaped portion, said cam being pivotally mounted on said lower support and movable to drive said wedge-shaped portion into the space between said lower and upper supports to lift said upper support and attached foil upwardly to a preselected and drainage promoting operating position and said cam being movable to withdraw said wedge-shaped portion from said space to drop the upper support and attached foil to the first preselected and drainage inoperative position.

2. A drainage foil assembly according to claim 1 in which said foil is attached to said upper support by adjustable means operative to vary the angular tilt and vertical position of said foil relative to said upper support, with the position and tilt of said foil relative to said upper support established by operation of said adjustable means being unaffected by operation of said cam to raise and lower said upper support.

3. A drainage foil assembly according to claim 1 in which said spacer means adjacent one end of said foil comprise a pair of vertical posts, said cam is pivotally connected to one of said posts and movable to drive said Wedge-shaped portion between said posts and into said space between said lower and upper supports.

4. A drainage foil assembly according to claim 1 in which said wedge-shaped portion has an inclined surface on the top of said portion arrange-d to engage a mating inclined surface on the bottom of said upper support.

5. A drainage foil assembly according to claim 3 in which said wedge-shaped portion has an inclined surface on the top of said portion arranged to engage a mating inclined surface on the bottom of said upper support, and said mating inclined surfaces are arcuate and of a radius emanating from the post to which said cam is pivotally connected.

6. A drainage foil assembly according to claim 4 in which the top of said cam defines a groove adjacent the top edge of said inclined surface on top of said wedge portion of said cam; and a spring loaded detent is mounted in said upper support to project downwardly through said upper support and the mating inclined surface on the bottom of said upper support to engage the inclined surface on top of said wedge portion of saidcam as said wedge portion is driven between said lower and upper supports until said groove passes beneath said detent and said detent projects into said groove to thereby latch said wedge portion of said cam between said lower and upper supports.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,323,982 6/1967 Hill l62354X REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner T. A. GRANGER, Assistant Examiner 

